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Troops in battle for drone debris
Source: Agencies |
September 19, 2011, Monday
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PAKISTANI soldiers battled Taliban militants to seize debris from a suspected US drone that crashed in a rugged tribal area near the Afghan border, Pakistani intelligence officials said yesterday.
The unmanned aircraft crashed on Saturday night near a village in South Waziristan, said the officials.
The officials said they learned of the crash by intercepting Taliban radio communications but do not know what caused it.
The debris was first seized by the Taliban. Several hours after the crash, the Pakistani army sent soldiers to wrest it from the militants, sparking a battle in which three Taliban were killed, according to the officials. Three militants and two soldiers were also wounded.
Nawab Khan, a government official in South Waziristan, confirmed the drone crash and the subsequent clash between militants and the army. He did not know whether the army had successfully seized the debris.
The US does not normally acknowledge the covert CIA-run drone program in Pakistan, but US officials have said privately the attacks have killed many high-level militants - most recently, al-Qaida's second in command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, and its chief of operations in Pakistan, Abu Hafs al-Shahri.
US President Barack Obama has dramatically increased the number of drone attacks against militants in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region since taking office in 2009.
The unmanned aircraft crashed on Saturday night near a village in South Waziristan, said the officials.
The officials said they learned of the crash by intercepting Taliban radio communications but do not know what caused it.
The debris was first seized by the Taliban. Several hours after the crash, the Pakistani army sent soldiers to wrest it from the militants, sparking a battle in which three Taliban were killed, according to the officials. Three militants and two soldiers were also wounded.
Nawab Khan, a government official in South Waziristan, confirmed the drone crash and the subsequent clash between militants and the army. He did not know whether the army had successfully seized the debris.
The US does not normally acknowledge the covert CIA-run drone program in Pakistan, but US officials have said privately the attacks have killed many high-level militants - most recently, al-Qaida's second in command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, and its chief of operations in Pakistan, Abu Hafs al-Shahri.
US President Barack Obama has dramatically increased the number of drone attacks against militants in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region since taking office in 2009.
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